Events

The Directorate General of Intellectual Property (DGIP) of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights in collaboration with ARISE + Indonesia, will organize a webinar to increase the knowledge of Indonesian government authorities, officials and local stakeholders about the rules, procedures and best practices for improving legal protection of GI products in the domestic market.

The Government of Indonesia is committed to registering, promoting and protecting Geographical Indication (GI) products in the domestic and international markets. Currently there are 97 GI products registered in Indonesia (September 2020).  Nine of them were from third countries, including six from EU Member States. Gayo Arabica Coffee is currently protected in the EU as a PGI while Amed Salt has applied for the protection this year and is currently under evaluation. In addition, Indonesia proposed an additional 70 GI products to be protected under the EU-Indonesia Comprehensive Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which is currently in the 9th round of negotiations. As part of the negotiations, the EU is proposing a list of 218 GI products to be protected in Indonesia.

Considering the forthcoming opportunities for GI products in the Indonesian market, it is time to advocate for a proactive stance towards market surveillance, monitoring and GI legal enforcement. This will support the GI association and set the groundwork for the proper marketing strategy, protect the business community, and create trust for consumers.

According to the GI legal system in the EU, the competent authorities of the Member States must carry out regular checks to ensure the protection of registered GI names, and in the event of a violation, they must take all necessary measures to stop the unlawful use of registered names. EU systems for monitoring the use of protected names in the market and ex-officio mechanisms, are best practices that might stimulate a more consistent mechanism for protecting GI products in Indonesia.

The webinar has four objectives:

• Facilitate cooperation between the Directorate General of Intellectual Property (DGIP) of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, as well as other relevant ministries of Indonesia with the Italian GI National Competency Authority: ICQRF, Ministry of Agriculture,
• Showcase EU best practices with regard to GI market surveillance and legal protection,
• Support Indonesian beneficiaries to develop a strategy and roadmap to improve and strengthen mechanisms to prevent, locate and persecute unlawful use of registered GI names, and
• Provide information and examples of collaboration mechanism between MPIGs and government competency authorities to monitor the market and protect registered names.